I thought that this first part was very interesting to read. There were several parts of the text that I thought stood out. When the author talked about when she was getting interviewed for the job, the principal, Mr. Turner asked her if she was having a problem in the classroom, how would she deal with it, she simply responded how she would document the behavior and then try interventions such as successive approximations toward our goal or goal or home involvement, depending on the individual situation. This response to Mr. Turner’s question was an instant sign to allow Esme to work at the school. Another point in the reading that I found shocking was when there was a student in the class Esme was observing who kept saying, “Suck my di**”. The teacher actually followed the student into the bathroom and threatened him. I did not expect this reaction from a teacher. Even though it stopped the student from speaking this way, I don’t think it was the most beneficial approach. I felt the journal entries throughout the readings were very effective. It is good to be able to get the first hand perspective from Esme. I also believe the idea of having the students write in journals a very useful tool in the classroom. I thought it was ironic how even though she told the students that if they did not want her to read an entry, to make it visible that they didn’t want her to read it, she read it anyway. Though she was not keeping her word, it was actually pretty smart of her to do because it made the students think about something that they might have wanted to talk about but had no where to go to talk about it so if they get to right out their feelings thinking no one would read it, they could be honest about anything. This helped Esme better connect with her students. Which is key as a teacher, and education in general. The education you gain from school is most when you can connect with the teacher, and they connect with you. When students feel that their teacher cares about them, they feel worthy and therefore try harder in school. Esme also demonstrates this concept when before she leaves, she has a daily saying before they leave school that day.
Reading Response 1 for Education Esme: p.3-50
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I thought that this first part was very interesting to read. There were several parts of the text that I thought stood out. When the author talked about when she was getting interviewed for the job, the principal, Mr. Turner asked her if she was having a problem in the classroom, how would she deal with it, she simply responded how she would document the behavior and then try interventions such as successive approximations toward our goal or goal or home involvement, depending on the individual situation. This response to Mr. Turner’s question was an instant sign to allow Esme to work at the school. Another point in the reading that I found shocking was when there was a student in the class Esme was observing who kept saying, “Suck my di**”. The teacher actually followed the student into the bathroom and threatened him. I did not expect this reaction from a teacher. Even though it stopped the student from speaking this way, I don’t think it was the most beneficial approach. I felt the journal entries throughout the readings were very effective. It is good to be able to get the first hand perspective from Esme. I also believe the idea of having the students write in journals a very useful tool in the classroom. I thought it was ironic how even though she told the students that if they did not want her to read an entry, to make it visible that they didn’t want her to read it, she read it anyway. Though she was not keeping her word, it was actually pretty smart of her to do because it made the students think about something that they might have wanted to talk about but had no where to go to talk about it so if they get to right out their feelings thinking no one would read it, they could be honest about anything. This helped Esme better connect with her students. Which is key as a teacher, and education in general. The education you gain from school is most when you can connect with the teacher, and they connect with you. When students feel that their teacher cares about them, they feel worthy and therefore try harder in school. Esme also demonstrates this concept when before she leaves, she has a daily saying before they leave school that day.